Communications of the ACM
Using Free and Open Source Tools to Manage Software Quality
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The principles of agile software development place more emphasis on individuals and interactions than on processes and tools. They steer us away from heavy documentation requirements and guide us along a path of reacting efficiently to change rather than sticking rigidly to a predefined plan. To support this flexible method of operation, it is important to have suitable applications to manage the team's activities. It is also essential to implement effective frameworks to ensure quality is being built into the product early and at all levels. With these concerns in mind and coming from a budget-conscious perspective, this article will explore the free and open source applications and tools used by one organization in its quest to build process and quality around its projects and products.
How a software development team implements process and handles its application life cycle management can have a huge bearing on the success of the product it is developing.2 A lean and efficient mode of operation is the key, especially for early-stage start-ups. Many commercial-grade products and frameworks are available for integrating all aspects of your development process: requirements management, project planning, defect management, test case creation and execution, automated testing, load testing, and so on. But these tools can be expensive and may be too much of a burden for some organizations' idea of agility.
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